Kevin Mayer in the decathlon shot put at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (© Getty Images)
Ashton Eaton produced his best ever shot put mark at an outdoor global championships to extend his lead in the decathlon.
He opened with 14.72m and then improved to 14.73m with his second throw, bringing his overall tally to 2803. He is 95 points ahead of Canada’s world silver medallist Damian Warner, who was some way below his best in the shot put and managed just 13.66m.
France’s Kevin Mayer continued to produce the series of his life, sending his shout out to an outdoor PB of 15.76m, the best mark of the day. He now moves up to third overall, just nine points shy of Warner.
The biggest cheers of the contest came for Brazil’s Luiz Alberto de Araujo. His throw of 15.26m was one of the best marks of the day and moved him from eighth to fourth on the leaderboard. It is unlikely he will challenge for medals, though.
German duo Kai Kazmirek and Arthur Abele will be in the medal hunt, however. Kazmirek managed 14.20m, while Abele threw 15.03m after recording two fouls. Kazmirek is currently in fifth and has the potential to move up a place or two. Abele, meanwhile, is down in 15th but will be strong on the second day and is by no means out of the medal race just yet.
France’s Bastien Auzeil and Adam Sebastian Helcelet of the Czech Republic were the only other men to throw beyond 15 metres, putting 15.41m and 15.11m respectively. African record-holder Larbi Bourrada of Algeria is currently seventh after throwing 13.78m in the shot, but looks poised to challenge for the bronze medal.
Although it is still in the early stages, there already appears to be three likely medallists emerging. The positions may change during the course of the competition, but the current top three – Eaton, Warner and Mayer – could well be the men on the podium at the end of the two days.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
